


Evanescent

by daydreamsonacloudyday



Series: Nova Ryder [3]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 14:53:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15687657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamsonacloudyday/pseuds/daydreamsonacloudyday
Summary: Nova finds out Reyes is the Charlatan.





	Evanescent

**Author's Note:**

> I changed some stuff in my version of things: (1) when Nova and co. get to Kadara, Sloane doesn’t have Vehn Terev in custody yet, and she says that she’s going to have her people keep looking for him. While that’s happening, Nova decides to stay in Kadara for a while and see if she can make it livable and try and get an outpost there, which is when she gets involved with Reyes. (2) While making Kadara livable, she does a few extra missions, some of which Reyes tags along for—[one of them involves rescuing hostages from Outcasts.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11820600) (3) I figure Reyes has got a tiny little place in Kadara’s slums that he doesn’t use much because he spends most of his time in Tartarus. (4) The Nomad can fit the entire squad

Reyes was in deep shit. Despite his original intentions, he’d gone and fallen for the Initiative’s Pathfinder, and he had fallen _hard_. He didn’t think he loved Nova, not yet anyway, but he _could_ , he was headed in that direction for sure—and thoughts like that always had his his stomach unpleasantly twisting in his gut.

Trying to distract himself from those thoughts, Reyes trailed his eyes over Nova’s body in the bed beside his, the sheets clinging to her curves as she lay on her side. Her thick, brown locks fell over her shoulder, and he reached out his hand, unable to stop himself from running his fingers through her hair. His gaze continued its path up to her face, over lips that were begging to be kissed, to those hazel eyes of hers, both brown and green at the same time, and completely bewitching.

Reyes could stare into her eyes for hours. He _wanted_ to stare into her eyes for hours. Once he took care of Sloane, things in Kadara would be better. Then maybe he could tell Nova who he really was, and she would still look at him like she was in that moment. But maybe he’d still wait to tell her, just in case…

"Reyes, why are you staring at me like that?" Nova asked, her voice pulling him from his thoughts.

Sending his fears to the back of his mind, he smirked and shifted closer to her under the covers. "I can’t help it," he replied smoothly. "You are radiant, _mi luz_."

Her eyebrow quirked. "Did you just call me… 'your light?'"

"Yes."

Nova’s smile grew. "Why?"

Reyes shot her a look of mock disbelief. "Do you not know the meaning of your own name?"

"It’s my name, of course I know what it means," Nova said, annoyed, but Reyes didn’t answer, patiently waiting for her to explain. She huffed, and leaned back into her pillow. "A nova’s a star that suddenly becomes brighter for a short period of time, and then fades," she droned. "But it doesn’t seem like you’re saying it because of that."

"Why not?" he protested. "Kadara’s future became brighter when you arrived."

A laugh escaped Nova’s lips, and then she was smiling again, his heart doing that pleasant little flutter it did when she did such things. "Kind of cheesy, but I like it."

"Cheesy, but true," he continued, sitting up. "You stopped the Roekaar murders, took Oblivion off the streets, made the water drinkable, rescued hostages from Outcasts…"

"You helped with the Roekaar and the hostages," she teased. "A little."

"Always nice to be recognized."

Nova laughed, and he watched with a grin until she calmed. He swallowed hard and furrowed his brows, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say next. He was always good with words, but not when he had to convey his _feelings_. It especially did not help that he’d never felt the way he did about her before.

"Nova," he said softly, brows furrowed, eyes searching hers. She met his gaze and swallowed, sitting up in the bed, her brows curiously furrowing to match his. "You’ve made my life brighter," he continued, voice quiet, eyes boring into hers. "You make me want to be a better man. _Eres me luz, eres mi sol_."

She blinked those mesmerizing hazel eyes at him, processing his words, and a beautiful, broad grin spread across her face. Before he could say anything else, her hands were on his face, pulling him into a deep kiss as she crawled into his lap. Reyes wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he lowered her back onto the bed.

They lost themselves in each other, and what Reyes couldn’t make himself say with words he made clear with every press of his lips to Nova’s skin and every gentle caress of his hands on her body. When they finished, they lay twined together, the sheets kicked off of their bodies as the sweat on their skin dried and cooled them.

Some time later, an alarm beeped on Nova’s omni-tool, and she sighed.

"And where is the Pathfinder off to this time?" Reyes asked, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"I have to take care of a few things before meeting Sloane later."

His heart stopped. "You’re meeting Sloane?"

Nova turned in his arms so she was facing him, and propped herself up on her elbow. "She’s meeting the Charlatan at a cave in Draullir and wants me as backup."

Now Reyes’ heart was beating again, faster, the thumps loud in his ears. "Doesn’t she have her own people for that?"

"Apparently she can’t trust them because they’re the ones the Charlatan used to beat up Kaetus," she explained.

Reyes frowned, lips pursed. "Since when do you care if Sloane gets taken out by the Charlatan?"

"I don’t," she protested. "But she said the Initiative can have a presence on Kadara if I have her back, and I need her support if I’m ever going to establish an outpost here."

Shaking his head, he fixed her with a serious stare. "You shouldn’t go."

Nova smirked. "You’re worried about me."

"I don’t want you caught up in the middle of the war between Sloane and the Charlatan."

"Sloane needs me, so she’s not going to hurt me, and I told you, for whatever reason, the Charlatan doesn’t want me hurt either. I’ll be fine."

"Nova, please. Don’t go," he begged.

" _Relax_ , I’m bringing the whole crew with me," she answered, narrowing her eyes at him. "Why are you getting so worked up about this?"

Reyes hesitated before answering—he could tell her the _real_ reason he didn’t want her to go with Sloane to that cave and risk losing her right then and there, or he could stay quiet and not ruin any potential time they had left. Not to mention the fact that she could do something completely stupid and dangerous if she found out who he was before meeting Sloane. Reyes, being the selfish, almost-in-love man that he was, wasn’t about to waste the few precious moments he had left with Nova—not if it could potentially keep her safe as well.

"If something happened to you… just be careful," he finally said, eyes searching hers, and she smiled at him.

I will, she said, punctuating her response with a kiss. Climbing out of bed, Nova pulled her clothes on and sent out a message on her omni-tool. He watched her, joining her when she was finished. "I’ll see if I can stop by Tartarus later if this thing goes down smoothly. Maybe we can celebrate a future outpost."

Reyes forced himself to flash her a smile. "I’ll see you later."

Nova pressed a quick kiss to his lips and turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, planting his lips on hers once more. His hand cradled the back of her head as he kissed her thoroughly, her scent, the feel of her, _everything_ about her overwhelming him. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed.

"Goodbye Reyes."

Opening his eyes, he took a last look at her, his gaze lingering on her eyes, and nodded. "Goodbye, _mi luz_."

Nova smiled, stepped away from him, and then left, leaving Reyes alone with his thoughts. Almost immediately, they drifted to what she had said earlier, when describing her name.

_A nova’s a star that suddenly becomes brighter for a short period of time, and then fades._

Reyes only hoped that what happened in that cave wouldn’t lead to what he had with Nova fading away like her namesake.

\- . - . - . - . -

"Are you sure the Charlatan said _this_ cave?" Nova asked, looking around the cavern of the cave she and Sloan had entered. "There’s a lot of caves out here. We haven’t seen any sign of him and we could totally be in the wrong cave."

"Yes, it’s this cave," Sloane barked.

"Maybe he’s late?"

"Look—"

"You look like you’re waiting for someone," a masculine voice echoed, cutting off Sloane.

Nova froze, a chill slithering down her back—she knew that voice, _intimately_. Turning around, she found Reyes standing on a ledge in the cave, looking down at her and Sloane. She drew her brows together as her mind began to race, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing there.

"I’m here for the Charlatan, not some third-rate smuggler," Sloane said, dismissing Reyes, still looking around for the Charlatan to show up.

Nova met Reyes’ eyes for an answer, and her stomach flipped when she met his gaze—he looked _guilty_.

"No," she muttered, her breath catching in her throat as her breathing grew uneasy.

"What’s wrong now?" Sloane asked, annoyed.

"He’s the Charlatan," Nova said, her voice lilting, the statement more of a question since she was unwilling to believe what was happening.

Reyes confirmed her worst fears, quickly tearing his gaze from hers and plastering a smirk on his face as he stared down at Sloane. "Surprise."

Nova felt heat flood to her face as anger exploded inside her. He wasn’t going to drop _that_ bomb on her and then pretend she wasn’t there. "You’ve been lying to me this whole time?" she shouted up at him, stomping towards the ledge he was perched on.

"Not about everything," he answered cooly. "You know who I really am."

"Are you kidd—"

"You said you wanted to 'settle things,'" Sloane cut in, stepping forward beside Nova. "How?"

Reyes jumped off his perch and stepped up to them, without giving Nova a glance, entirely focused on Sloane. Nova’s cheeks burned, her fists clenched at her side.

"A duel," he began, "You and me. Right now. Winner takes Kadara Port."

Nova’s heart pumped faster in her chest, worry mixing with anger, and she inserted herself into the face-off once again. "You can’t be serious? You want to avoid war by shooting each other?"

"Two people shooting each other is better than a lot of people shooting each other," Reyes answered, then turning his attention back to Sloane. "Well?"

"I’ll take those terms," she answered, glancing to Nova. "Remember our deal, Pathfinder."

Without another word, the two stepped away from Nova, moving to opposite sides of the cave. Nova blinked rapidly, trying to assess the situation and sort through her jumbled thoughts, all past the sound of her racing heartbeat reverberating throughout her head.

Did Sloane expect to help her win the duel? After dismissing her like a child? And wasn’t that cheating? Plus, how could she help Sloane when that meant it Reyes would die? It was Reyes! _Reyes_. Who was the Charlatan. Who had been lying to her since the day they met. Reyes who had probably been using her to get to Sloane, since now he didn’t seem to care about her and was just dismissing her like Sloane was. And she’d fallen for him like an idiot.

Swallowing hard, Nova glanced at Reyes. He and Sloane were circling each other, their hands hovering near their holsters, fingers twitching, ready to draw their pistols like in one of the old western movies she and Liam had watched. She stared at Reyes, her chest tight as she frantically tried to figure out what to do, when she saw a flash in the darkness behind him.

"Sniper. His sights are set on Sloane," SAM said in her head, answering her question before she could even ask. The moment she processed his words, she darted out between the two opponents, biotics glowing around her as she put up a barrier between them.

The sniper took a shot just as she moved, and it would have been a direct hit if it hadn’t hit her biotic barrier instead.

Sloane huffed, eyeing Reyes with a dirty look before drawing her gun and turning her attention to Nova. "It’s him or me. Only one of us can rule Kadara. Remember, I’ll let you have an outpost."

"Nova," Reyes called out, and she turned to face him. "I want peace. Sloane will bring war to Heleus. We don’t have the population to survive that."

Blue energy danced around her fingertips as she looked back and forth between Sloane and Reyes. She could hold her barrier up for a while—the tingling feeling of her biotics over her body wouldn’t become painful for a long time—but that didn’t matter. Sloane and Reyes had come into that cave to fight for Kadara, pretending she wasn’t even there, and now that they were stuck in this situation _she_ was the one who was going to decide their fate. She had to decide who would rule Kadara, not to mention what happened to the man she was involved with.

_No pressure, Nova_ , she thought to herself, trying to breathe deeply as her muscles tensed. She turned an apologetic gaze to Sloane, her stomach sinking. "I’m sorry."

Before Sloane could answer, Nova twisted her fingers, adjusting the barrier so that it was no longer between Sloane and Reyes, but only around Reyes. The moment the blue energy was no longer protecting Sloane, the sniper took another shot.

Closing her eyes, Nova let her biotics fade away, ignoring the thump Sloane’s body made as it hit the ground. She heard Reyes give orders to someone, but she didn’t bother listening to specifics, too busy trying to control her erratic breathing. When she was finally calm enough to open her eyes, Sloane’s body was gone, and Reyes was on his omni-tool, no doubt giving more orders for his take-over of Kadara. She turned towards the exit of the cave and started to rush towards it, desperate for fresh air.

"Nova!"

She stopped and whirled around to face Reyes, shaking her head. "This is why you didn’t want me to meet Sloane," she accused. "Not because you were worried about me, but because you were worried I’d find out the truth!"

"Nova—"

"Have you just been using me this whole time to undermine Sloane’s power?"

"It started off that way—"

"Oh my god."

"—but then I got to know you," Reyes finished, desperately. " _Mi luz_ , please."

"Don’t call me that," Nova snapped, breathing heavy. "Why didn’t you tell me, Reyes? After everything… I trusted you and you lied right to my face!"

He hesitated, looking down before he raised his eyes to hers again, his voice soft when he answered. "I liked the way you looked at me. I was afraid that would change."

Huffing, Nova blinked back tears.

"Nova," he breathed, reaching for her, but she stepped back, shaking her head.

"No. You are not the man I thought you were."

"I wanted to be," he said, almost so quiet that she didn’t hear it.

She turned from him, crossing her arms, swallowing past the knot in her throat. "Now what?"

"I get to work. Kadara Port won’t take itself, he replied. He opened his mouth to say something else but stopped himself, giving her one last look before leaving the cave.

Nova took another moment to gather herself before she started back towards the cave entrance where her entire squad was waiting for her—she didn’t look forward to explaining what happened to them. They’d all warned her to be careful getting involved with Reyes… maybe she should have listened.

\- . - . - . - . -

Nova breathed in deep, her eyes closed as her hand hovered over the holo-panel on the door. Ignoring the sounds coming from the first level of Tartarus so she could focus on her own thoughts, she let out the puff of air trapped in her lungs and pressed the panel, the door sliding open before her.

Reyes stood from his usual spot on his couch when he saw her, her name falling from his lips as he hesitantly watched her enter the room. She couldn’t bear to meet his gaze, keeping her eyes to the floor as she sat on the couch, folding her hands in her lap.

"I’m surprised you’re not in the throne room. I thought Tartarus would be too shabby for Kadara’s new leader," she started, bitterness seeping into her voice.

"Come on, Nova," he answered, almost purring. "You know I prefer to rule from the shadows. He was trying too hard, and it wasn’t helping.

"This is your chance to go legitimate," she snapped, glaring at him.

"I’m not built for the spotlight," he answered simply, and she frowned. "The angara you met at Sloane’s party—Keema Dohrgun. She’s agreed to be my front."

Nova had figured as much when she went to Sloane’s old throne room looking for Reyes and had seen the angaran sitting on the throne instead. That’s when she found herself walking the familiar path to Tartarus in search of Reyes. "So Keema knew you were the Charlatan, then?" she asked.

Reyes hesitated before answering. "Yes."

"Of course she did."

"The secrecy around my identity isn’t malicious. It’s so I can operate freely. Keema’s a part of that operation."

"Right."

"Nova—"

"Were you ever going to tell me?" she interrupted, eyes searching his.

Reyes held her gaze, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. "I only lied because I didn’t want the rumors surrounding 'the Charlatan' to taint your view of me."

"That doesn’t answer the question, Reyes." Nova sighed. "If I didn’t find out myself… would you have ever told me that you were the Charlatan?"

She waited for his answer as he stared back at her, searching his eyes for any hint of what he would say. Finally, he tore his gaze from her and her stomach dropped. "I don’t know," he breathed.

"That’s what really hurts," Nova forced out past a growing knot in her throat.

"I wanted to tell you so many times."

"But you didn’t!" Her voice was louder than she expected it to be, and he snapped his gaze back to her. She stood up, clenching and un-clenching her hands, resisting the urge to pace around the private room. Reyes stood up as well, slowly approaching her. "Don’t you get it? I don’t care that you’re the Charlatan," She continued, unable to stop the words from flying out of her mouth. "I just care that you liked to me about it—after letting me believe I was getting to know the real you. After letting me care about you."

Placing his hands on her arms, Reyes stepped up to her. "Nova, I am truly sorry."

She shook her head, shrugging out of his grasp. "It’s not enough," she said, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. "I thought I was okay with not knowing everything about what you do, but I’m not. One tear escaped, falling down her cheek and she huffed, wiping it away with the heel of her hand. "I can’t do this, Reyes. We’re done."

Reyes’ jaw clenched at her words, his shoulders sagging as his head fell. When he managed to look at her, his lips were pressed thin, his brows drawn together. "I… I understand," he forced out, voice thick.

"I just…"

"It’s okay," he said softly, hand reaching for her face. He stopped himself and put it back at his side, a sad smile on his lips. "Besides, you were always too good for me." They stared at each other for a long moment until Reyes cleared his throat, giving her a serious look. "With Sloane gone, there’s room for the Initiative on Kadara."

Sniffling, Nova rubbed her eyes and stood up straighter. "Uh, yeah… I’ll start rounding up volunteers for an outpost, I guess. It might take a while—I don’t know if anyone will want to live on a planet full of exiles."

"I want this outpost as much as you do," he answered, serious. "I will have my full protection. That’s a promise."

"Thanks," she said, quietly. "And Vehn Terev? Sloane’s people haven’t found him yet."

"My people will continue to look for him. I’ll contact you the moment he is found."

"Okay." Nova sighed. "I should get back to the Tempest and tell Tann the news."

Reyes nodded. "Goodbye, Nova."

"Goodbye, Reyes." With one last longing stare, she turned and started towards the door. She could feel Reyes’ gaze on her the whole time, but she didn’t look back. She couldn’t risk losing her nerve and running back into his arms—their relationship was over.


End file.
